Media Release
Udupi, Aug 17: As many as 200 volunteers from several communities and organisations gathered on Tuesday, August 15, for the cleanliness drive Sarva Dharma Swachch Grama Abhiyaan, to mark India's 71st Independence Day.
The drive was organised to create awareness about the need to maintain a clean and green environment. Besides spreading knowledge, the drive included a 3-hour routine of cleanliness practically.
Organisations and communities that took part in the unique abhiyaan included Faithful of St Antony Church, Kuntalnagar, Sarvajanika Ganeshotsava Samithi, Dendoorkatte, Manipura Grama Panchayat, Jumma Masjid, Manipura, Sarvadharma Sauharda Samithi, Kuntalnagar, CSI Chruch, Manipura, Rotary Club, Manipura, Navodaya Mitra Mandali, Manipura, Dharmasthala Grameena Abhivridhi Sangha and Narayanaguru Mitra Mandali.
Guests present were Geetha Rama, Manipura Panchayat president, Fr Denis D'Sa, PP, Sakarama Shetty, president, Sarvajanika Ganeshotsava Samithi, Moofer Hamid, president Jumma Masjid,Joseph Kunder, member of CSI, advocate Krishnaraj Acharya, Gururaj Bhat, Ida Gibba D'Souza, Mohammed Shareef, Asha Shekar, Annappa Poojari, Raghu Poojari, Chandrashekar Salian, Rotary president, Vincent D'Souza, vice president, Kuntalnagar church and 200 volunteers from all communities.
Fr Denis adminstered the oath 'Nava Bharatha Sankalpa', towards making the local village plastic free, waste free, hunger free, corruption free, terror free, communal free, and to make the place a community of love and respect for all faiths, people, culture and language. Everyone persent took the oath of keeping the surroundings clean and green.
Fr Denis said,"When our hearts, minds and environment are clean, it certainly leads to a clean and hatred free society. Heart and mind are the source of all good or evil. Let uss keep them clean first. All else will fall in line automatically.
God and our ancestors have given us this mother earth, our common home - Bharath Mata and we have an obligation to hand over it to the next generation as it has been handed over to us, clean, green and pollution free. Let us resolve to do so, right now," he urged.
The abhiyaan was from Dendoorkatte to Manipura, Dendoorkatte to Kuntalnagar, and Dendoorkatte till Kalmanje.
The beauty of the programme was that the diversity volunteers who were from all communities. All worked with one mind and heart.
The route itself was inter-religious and included a temple, Catholic Church, CSI Church, and Masjid.
Krishnaraj, Sakaram Shetty and Chandrashekar Salian spoke on the occasion.